Given that he's the monarch of the United Kingdom, it's no surprise that King Charles is incredibly wealthy, and the royal enjoyed a substantial increase in his personal wealth in the last year.
The latest figures from The Sunday Times' annual rich list revealed that Charles increased his personal wealth by £40 million in the past year, with his net worth rising from £640 million to a total of £680 million. It also means that he's climbed an impressive 33 places on the publication's rich list since 2023, now sitting in 230th position.
Part of the monarch's grand wealth comes from the profits he saved when he was the Duke of Cornwall and had access to the funds from the Duchy of Cornwall. The Duchy is currently worth £1.1 billion and consists mainly of land which totals 130,000 acres. Between 2011 and when he acceded to the throne in 2022, Charles increased its profits up to £25.4 million.
Charles was particularly "prudent" when saving the money, following the £17 million he had to spend during his divorce from the late Princess of Wales. A former royal aide told the publication: "He became prudent at tucking away some money from the Duchy after that wipeout [of capital].
"We're not talking vast sums here – several tens of millions, no more. There have been suggestions that Camilla brought a good deal of money into their relationship, but that's really not correct."
How Charles earns money
The King collects a yearly salary through the sovereign grant, the royals will then use this money to pay for officials expenses, including duties such as royal tours and upkeep on royal residences. It had previously been reported that the sovereign grant is currently around £86.3 million and was expected to soar to £132 million after the Crown Estate recorded a profit of £1.1 billion in 2024.
The new report from The Sunday Times indicates that this is still the case.
Meanwhile, while properties like Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Kensington Palace are synonymous with the royal family, these are actually owned by the state rather than the monarchy, and so they don't actually earn any money from these.
However, Charles and Camilla do personally own Balmoral in Scotland and Sandringham in Norfolk. Expert valuers estimated the worth of Balmoral at £80 million, while Sandringham dwarfed this and is believed to be worth around £250 million.
© Getty ImagesSandringham draws its finances from being a heavily monetised property, tourists are charged £23 to visit the estate when the royal family are away, while the 8,000-hectare land is home to rental properties, commercial lets and farmland.
Charles and Camilla's personal jewellery collection is estimated to be worth £533 million. Due to their royal pedigree, if the royal couple ever opted to auction off some of their pieces, it's likely that they would fetch higher than the asking price, increasing this estimation even more.
© Getty ImagesOne item that belonged to the late Princess Margaret went for £3,600 at auction, despite only having a valuation of £30.
